Guns a-blazin': Buyback program results in destruction of hundreds of guns

Tuesday

May 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMMay 27, 2008 at 9:59 PM

The idea of a gun buyback, during which Springfield residents could turn over their unwanted weapons to police, no questions asked, turned out to be very popular.

Jayette Bolinski

The idea of a gun buyback, during which Springfield residents could turn over their unwanted weapons to police, no questions asked, seemed like a good one last fall.

The offer turned out to be far more popular — and expensive — than expected. And it culminated last week when nearly 500 buyback guns — plus a variety of drugs, paperwork and other no longer needed crime evidence — went into a 3,000-degree furnace at the Keystone Steel and Wire foundry in Bartonville.

When the buyback was envisioned, the idea was to get guns off the street, cut down on violent crime, and maybe decrease the number of firearms stolen during residential burglaries, city leaders reasoned. To sweeten the deal, a $100 Visa debit card was offered for every gun turned in. Organizers guessed officers would collect 150 guns — tops.

By the time the four-hour buyback was over, police had amassed 526 guns, including everything from rusty pistols with no visible markings to antique, wood-handled hunting rifles and two starter pistols. They had to issue IOUs for additional debit cards.

Next problem: what to do with all those firearms.

Evidence technicians examined and identified the guns, traced serial numbers to make sure the guns hadn’t been used in any crimes, and determined if any had historical value. The rest were prepared for destruction.

Seven months later, with police officers watching every step of the way, 478 of the buyback guns were bagged, hoisted 100 feet into the air and dropped into the Keystone furnace.

Evidence technician Bobby Dorsey, a city police officer, and Lt. Jim Henry, dressed in hard hats, protective goggles and gloves, were inside a foundry control room as guns began to curl and fall out of the bottom of four bags hanging over the furnace. A dramatic fireball erupted from within the furnace as the evidence fell in, and the heat could be felt through the glass window of the control room.

“Man, that sure was something,” Henry said later.

In addition to the guns, the officers burned marijuana, hashish, prescription medication, drug pipes, knives, clothing, bloody sheets and clothing, paperwork and other items of evidence that had been approved for destruction.

The burn was part of an evidence-destruction process that happens several times a year.

The Springfield Police Department follows strict rules that dictate how and when evidence can be destroyed, who participates in the process, who oversees it and who must sign off on it. Some evidence, including material from homicides, can never be destroyed, meaning the department is indefinitely responsible for holding those items.

The process is cumbersome, but with good reason — police want to ensure they never destroy something that isn’t supposed to be destroyed.

Michelle Lauterbach, a civilian police employee who coordinates the evidence section, estimated the process of disposing of a single piece of evidence takes about three months from beginning to end, once a case has been closed out and the statute of limitations is up.

Once officials determine an item is eligible for destruction, they determine if the associated court case or police investigation is closed and then try to find an owner for the property if it can be released.

Some things can’t be returned, such as ammunition, guns that belonged to convicted felons and drugs.

“But if it is something of significant value, then by law you do have to return it to the owner,” Lauterbach said.

When an owner is located, she sends a letter offering to return the item. If no one responds after 30 days, police can begin the destruction process, which involves several steps, including several officers double-checking paperwork against the item itself to make sure the correct evidence is about to be destroyed. Each officer has to sign off on the process, and they all have to be present during every step of the two-day procedure.

“You have to get a lieutenant, a supervisor, an officer, an evidence officer and a sergeant, and all their schedules have to be on the same day, and the burn or landfill facility has to be open on the same day, because every single one of those people have to sign off,” Lauterbach noted.

The team makes roughly two trips to a foundry each year to burn evidence. Some items, such as batteries, videotapes, liquids, ammunition and excessive amounts of paper, can’t be burned at the foundry, so it goes in a landfill.

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at (217) 788-1530 or jayette.bolinski@sj-r.com.

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